October 31, 2015

THE SHOWER RINGS WILL FIGHT GERMS TOO:

The latest advance in 3D printing: replacement teeth (Dominic Basulto, 10/31/15, Washington Post)

For the Dutch researchers, the key step in developing the bacteria-fighting tooth was being able to find the right material to put inside the 3D printer. In this case, the researchers embedded antimicrobial quaternary ammonium salts inside existing dental resin polymers. Once this mix is put into a 3D printer, it can be hardened with ultraviolet light and used to print out 3D replacement teeth.

To test the bacteria-fighting tooth in a lab environment, the researchers coated the material with human saliva and exposed it to the bacterium that causes tooth decay. The anti-bacterial tooth killed more than 99% of all bacteria and showed no signs of being harmful to human cells.

Posted by at October 31, 2015 7:21 AM
  

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